Would You?
by SevReed
Summary: Well, wouldn't you?
1. Chapter 1 - The Challenge

**Hi. Just a short one. Might have another chapter, or maybe I'll just leave it to your imagination. Anyway, apologies for the contrived set-up, but this is Jori after all. The song in question is '** ** _Would you…?_** **' by Touch and Go - it just happened to be on the radio this morning (which is why you've ended up with whatever this is. Sorry).**

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"No. Absolutely no way."

"Oh, come on. You can do it."

The lyric challenge had been Andre's idea, to while away a boring afternoon. It was simple. Pick a target, start up a conversation, and see how long it takes them to realize that _your_ side of the conversation made no sense at all, because it was just the lyrics to a song. Each chose the song and the target for the other, and the winner was whoever got the furthest before the victim caught on and walked off in disgust.

Or slapped them in the face, as one of Andre's less successful but more entertaining attempts had demonstrated.

"I'm giving you a chance, here."

Andre was winning. He'd gotten almost all the way through _'Yesterday'_ before Sinjin had made his excuses and run away. Tori had the wooden spoon, barely making it through the first line of _'I am the Walrus'_ before Beck had tried to take her to the school nurse. By mutual agreement, they'd excluded Cat as being too easy a mark.

"It's only three lines. You get through this, you've won. First one to complete a song."

"I don't think this even _is_ a real song," Tori protested.

"Look it up."

"But I can't say _this_ to someone! What if they take it the wrong way?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want them to think I'm... you know." Tori shifted, uncomfortably.

"So you're giving in?"

"I didn't say that!"

"Sounds like it to me."

"But-"

"And I could do with the money."

"Urrgh." Tori didn't even _have_ fifty bucks, a fact that she was unwilling to reveal to Andre. "Right, fine. Who?"

Andre looked around. "There. By the stairs."

Tori followed his gaze. "Oh, no," she said, firmly. "No, no, no, no, _no_."

"What?"

"I'm not saying that to _her!"_

"Why not? At least she won't take it the wrong way."

"That's not the point!"

"What's the worst that could happen?"

"Do you _really_ want me to answer that?"

Andre shrugged. "Fifty bucks. Your choice."

"Please?" Tori gave him her best 'Bambi' eyes, but it made no difference. She gave up. "Okay," she said, glumly. "I'll do it."

"Good girl."

"But this is the last one."

"Absolutely."

"And I totally win."

"Yes, you do."

"Okay, here I go."

There was a short pause. "Yeah," said Andre, when she failed to move. "The thing is, chica, you have to _actually_ go, otherwise it's not going to work. Unless you want to shout it across the hall?"

"What? No!"

"Then shift your butt. Go get your girl."

"Okay, I'm... wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just a joke."

"Right." She took a step, before turning back to him. "Andre," she said, hesitantly, "if-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he said. "I'll tell them you love them and you died for a noble cause. Now scoot."

"Right. Well, here I..."

"Don't start that again." He gave her a shove in the direction of the stairs. She glared at him, took a deep breath, and crossed the hall.

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Jade West was sitting at the foot of the stairs, reading a book, when she heard the click of boots. She glanced at them as they stopped in front of her.

"What do you want?" she said, without looking up.

There was no response for a few seconds. She turned the page. Finally she heard a voice from somewhere above her.

"I've... noticed you around."

She carried on reading. "Well, that's not _real_ surprising, Tori. I go to school here." There was another pause.

"I find you very attractive."

She froze.

"Would you... go to bed with me?"

She looked up slowly, and blinked. Tori's face had gone a peculiar shade of pink, and somewhere in the distance there was the sound of laughter. She held the other girl's gaze for a little longer, and then shrugged.

"Sure," she said, returning her attention to her book. "When?"

Tori was thrown for a moment. That wasn't quite what she was expecting. "What?"

"Tonight?"

"Well-"

"Okay." She snapped the book shut and slid it into her bag. "Eight o'clock. My place." She shouldered the bag and headed for the door. "Don't be late."

"But..."

And she was gone. Tori was still staring after her when Andre came up. "Well?" he said. "Did you do it?"

Tori nodded, mutely.

"Was she mad at you?"

Tori shook her head.

"So what did she say?"

"Yes _."_

"Yeah, I bet she... What?"

"She said yes," Tori murmured, still gazing into space. "She wants to see me. Tonight."

Andre was dumbstruck for a minute, then laughed. "Oh, man," he said. "She played you."

Tori snapped out of her trance and turned to him. "Played me?"

"She called your bluff," Andre said, as if it was obvious. "Rolled you over. She's probably laughing at you right now."

"She..." She looked back at the door, and her face scrunched up in realization. "Dang it!" She stamped her foot.

"Burn."

"Shut up."

"Sorry." Andre grinned. "I guess you're just going to have to take it. She's going to be pretty smug tomorrow." Tori's shoulders sagged. "Unless..."

Tori turned, sensing salvation. "Unless what?" she said, hopefully.

"Unless..."

"What?"

"Unless…"

" _Tell_ me!"

Andre shrugged. "Unless you call _her_ bluff."

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 _This is stupid_ , Tori thought as she stood shivering outside the unfamiliar house. There was no way this was going to end in anything other than total humiliation. But it was a testament to her inability to let anyone down, and moreover the guilty fascination of actually being _invited_ to Jade's house - even if it was under false pretences, and knowing she'd be as unwelcome as she was unexpected - that she reluctantly stepped up to the door. _I'll just knock_ , she told herself _. I'll just knock, and as soon as she answers, I'll wink and tell her I know it was a joke. Say something funny. 'Bet you weren't expecting me, Miss West'. Or, you know, something_ actually _funny. And then maybe we'll have a laugh about it, and she'll invite me in for coffee, or... or maybe she won't. Maybe I'll just walk home in the rain. But the important thing is... I don't know what the important thing is. Crap. Why am I doing this?_

The sound of the doorbell startled her, and she looked in horror to see that her hand had pressed the button without waiting for her to finish the preliminaries. She straightened her clothes, hitched her bag higher onto her shoulder, and waited.

Eons passed, civilizations rose and fell. Distant galaxies collided in a cataclysm of ice and fire in the age it took before the door finally opened. And when it did, Tori felt as though she'd been caught in the blast. Jade stood there, wearing just a silk robe, hair loose and tumbling across her shoulders, a glass of wine in her hand.

"Hello, Tori," she said, her voice low and husky. "Right on time. I like that."

Tori's mouth opened, but nothing came out.

"Come on in."

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Andre whistled as he made his way home. He didn't mind losing the challenge.

It was fifty bucks well spent.

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Not _his_ fifty bucks, of course...


	2. Chapter 2 - Gamesmanship

**Hi there. I'm struggling to find much time at the moment, but I realized I had the rest of this almost ready to go. It'll be three chapters all together, last one will probably be in a day or so.**

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 _You couldn't stop it now_

 _There's no way to get out_

 _She's standing far too near_

 _How the hell did you get here?_

 _Semi-naked in somebody else's room_

 _I'd give my whole life to see it_

 _Just you..._

 _Stood there..._

 _Only in your underwear._

Pulp - 'Underwear'

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Tori followed Jade into the house, the door closing behind her with an ominous click, and stood self-consciously as Jade looked her up and down. _Say something now. Now's a good time to say something._

"Er..."

"Would you like a drink?"

"A drink?"

"Before we go up."

Jade's demeanor held no trace of mockery, just a kind of icy calm. _Serene_ was how Tori would have described it, if her brain hadn't been quite so scrambled at the thought that, judging by the smooth contours of the crimson robe, Jade wasn't wearing anything underneath it.

 _A drink. Yes, you want a drink. Anything to break the tension._ "Yes, please."

"Wine? Or there's beer or soda if you'd prefer."

"Anything." _No wait, that's a bad idea._ "Coke?"

Jade gave her one last, lingering look, and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Tori to hop from foot to foot in frustration. This was getting ridiculous. One of them was going to have to break the impasse. She wondered how long Jade was willing to keep up the charade, how far she'd go to force Tori into terminal embarrassment. _Just leave, now. Just run away and everything will be-_

"Here you go." Jade appeared and pressed a glass into her hand, her fingers touching Tori's for a fraction of a second longer than necessary. There was silence for a moment, and Tori thought she could hear her own heartbeat. "Thanks," she croaked. She paused, and then drank half of it on one long gulp. Jade regarded her with a touch of amusement.

"Thirsty?"

She realized to her horror that coke was dripping off her chin and wiped at it, furiously. "Um. Yes. Very."

"Good. I like that."

Tori didn't know what to make of that, other than the fact that it sounded unbelievably filthy. "Er…"

"Shall we go up?"

She nodded. Despite everything, there was still a thrill of curiosity at being allowed into the deepest recesses of Jade's lair. "Come." Jade turned, and made her way up the staircase, trailing pale fingers along the bannister, and Tori followed, until they reached the landing. Jade paused for a moment outside a door, and pushed it open.

Tori blinked. Jade's bedroom was... nice. _Tasteful_. Not at all what she'd imagined. True, there were jars containing things that would probably give her nightmares if she looked too closely, but the jars themselves were arranged neatly on smart cedar shelves, surrounded by books and trinkets, photos and souvenirs. It surprised her to see that at least one of the photographs had _her_ in it, even though she'd been on the edge of the group, perfectly placed to be cropped out at Jade's whim. She studied the rest of the bedroom, while trying very hard not to notice that there was an actual bed in it.

"You like it?" Jade's honeyed voice in her ear made her jump.

"Um, yes," she mumbled. "It's lovely. It's very..." - she struggled to sum it up, exactly - "... _not_ you."

She realized too late how that sounded, but Jade gave a little chuckle. "Yeah," she said. "I'm just full of surprises." She stood close to Tori, and clinked their glasses gently. "I never thought this would happen," she said, smiling. "It's been a long time coming."

"Mmm," was all Tori could manage.

Jade held her gaze a moment longer, then her eyes flickered downwards. "Aren't you going to get undressed?"

Tori's hand moved unconsciously to the button of her shirt. "Not here," Jade said. She nodded towards the en suite. "In the bathroom."

"Bathroom. Right."

"It's just through there."

"Got it."

"That door, there. Right in front of you."

"Okay."

"That's where the bathroom is."

"Great."

For the second time that day Tori's legs refused to take any notice of her brain. Jade raised an eyebrow, and nodded to the door. "So..?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going? Or do you want me to watch?"

Tori's eyes bulged. "No! I'm going. I'll... see you in a minute."

"Okay," Jade said. "I'll be waiting. Don't be too long." She winked. "I can get quite... impatient."

The look on her face was too much for Tori, and she fled for the safety of the bathroom.

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 _Now what are you going to do? She's played you, painted you into a corner. You can't possible win this._

But-

 _There's only one way out of this bathroom. So you're either going to have to admit defeat, or keep going. And you haven't got much left to go with._

What do you mean?

 _Look at you._

She looked, to find with astonishment that she'd undressed, and was stood in front of the mirror in just her underwear. _Clean_ underwear, she noticed. She didn't remember putting this on. She blushed at herself.

Oh, God.

 _So what's it going to be?_

I can do this. I'll just go out there...

 _Dressed like that?_

...dressed like this, and she'll be shocked. She'll be really shocked, I'll laugh, and I'll just… totally win. Yes, that's it.

 _Right. And what are you going to do if that doesn't work? What are you going to do if she just slaps your ass and tells you to get naked? What if_ she's _naked? She'll go a hell of a long way to make you look like an idiot. And that's looking on the bright side. What if..._

What if what?

 _..._

Come on, you're me, I can't leave me in suspense!

 _What if... she thinks it's real?_

If she..?

 _What if she's genuinely waiting out there to... you know._

Oh, God.

 _Well?_

She wouldn't, would she?

 _I don't know. If I knew, you'd know. Duh._

Don't be mean. Anyway, she can't think that. She'd never believe I'd just walk up to her at school and ask her to sleep with me.

 _You just did._

Well, yes, I know, but that was-

"Hey, Tori. You gonna be long in there?" There was a teasing tone to the voice that drifted through the door.

 _She's waiting._

Tori took a deep breath. This was ridiculous. They were two teenage girls trying to outprank each other. That's all it was. And if she could get even a flicker of surprise out of Jade, that was enough. Enough to show she was a good sport, that she could hold her own. She grasped the handle of the door, and before her brain could sow any more seeds of doubt, pulled it open, striking a pose.

"What do you-"

" _That's_ what you're wearing?"

The rush of adrenaline blurred her vision, and it took a moment to focus. She could a see a figure on the bed, which slowly resolved itself into the shape of Jade. Jade sat up against the headboard. Jade wearing a pair of fluffy pink pyjamas. Jade with a large bowl of popcorn balanced on her knee.

"Er..."

 _Uh oh._

"I mean," Jade went on, "I get that we're all girls together and everything, but is that what you _usually_ wear at a sleepover?"

Tori was finding it hard to speak. "What?"

"A _sleepover_ , Tori," Jade said, enunciating carefully as though Tori was slightly deaf. "Is that what you usually wear?"

"No. I..."

"Honestly, Vega, this was your idea, I thought you'd have come better prepared than this." She shrugged. "You can borrow something of mine, I guess. If you can find anything to fit."

The adrenaline drained away, and left Tori seething. _She's played you again. Just when you thought you might win the game, she's changed the rules. And you can't cry foul, because if you say anything, it's going to sound like you actually wanted... the other thing. Game, set and match._ She couldn't have done better if she'd planned the whole thing. Maybe she _had_ planned the whole thing.

And yet there was something wrong with this picture of cold-eyed treachery. Jade was grinning, clearly pleased with herself, but there was something else. Something about it that didn't quite fit.

 _Popcorn. She made popcorn._

Why would she do that? The bowl was enormous, she couldn't possible eat all that on her own and still fit in those pyjamas. So why would she make so much?

 _Because some of it's for you. She expects you to stay._

Tori felt a surge of anger. She's pranked you down to your underwear, and now she expects you to just suck it up and hang out with her as thought it was nothing, as though she can get away with anything because you're such a pushover. Hell, she probably believes she could have had you naked, if she'd wanted. Could have _had_ you, period.

Some of the fury must have shown on her face, because Jade's grin slowly faded into an expression of despondency. She stared down at the popcorn guiltily and pursed her lips. "Sorry," she muttered. "It was just a joke."

"A _joke_?"

"Yeah, you know, I just thought..." She sighed. "It was stupid. I'm sorry. You don't have to stay."

And then something clicked at the back of Tori's mind. _You can still win this._

"So that's it, is it?" she said, coldly. "You lured me here under false pretenses and now you're sending me _home_?"

"What?" Jade looked up in surprise. "No, I mean, I'm not... You don't _have_ to go, obviously, but I thought-"

"Well that's good," Tori purred. "Because I'm not going anywhere."

"Oh. Um.. good. Right. So, you want to-"

"I came here for a reason, Jade." Tori began swaying seductively towards the foot of the bed. "I came here because I want something."

Jade's expression passed quickly through confusion and into mild panic, as Tori climbed onto the bed and began to make her way up it. "Er, Tori..."

"And I'm not going to leave," Tori continued, now fully astride Jade's legs and still closing the gap, "until I get it."

Jade's face was a picture of terror now. "Look, it was a mistake, okay?" she said, desperately. "I didn't mean-"

"Do you know what I want?" Tori was practically in her lap now, straddling her thighs, her face inches away. Jade clutched the bowl protectively to herself, her eyes wide. "Tori!"

" _This!_ " Tori thrust her hand deep into the bowl of popcorn, grabbing a huge handful and ramming it into her mouth just as Jade let out a yelp of alarm. She sat back triumphantly, at the look of shock on the other girl's face.

A look which slowly turned to amusement as it became clear that there was no way Tori could swallow that much popcorn.

"Having fun there, Vega?" Jade said, after a few minutes.

"Mmmffmmff ummf mmf."

"Just say if you want some more."

"Nmmffmmff imf umff."

She struggled bravely on for a moment, until Jade took pity and picked up a waste basket. "Spit."

Tori did so, gratefully, and sat there panting. "So?" she said, finally.

"So?"

"Do I win?"

Jade rolled her eyes. "Yeah, okay. You win. _This_ time."

"Yay!"

"So... you want to stay?"

"Can I borrow something?"

"Top drawer."

Tori sprang off the bed and picked out a T-shirt big enough to cover her modesty and wriggled into it. Jade patted the bed, and she climbed in next to her, hugging her knees.

"You want to watch a movie?" Jade passed her a stack of DVDs. Tori took them, hesitantly. "Please don't tell me these are all different cuts of 'The Scissoring'."

"No."

Tori flipped through them, and found that they weren't quite what she was expecting. She couldn't imagine Jade watching stuff like this, it looked like they had more in common than...

And then it dawned on her. These weren't Jade's choice at all. These were _her_ favorite movies. Despite everything, Jade had gone to quite a lot of trouble to find these.

She was still considering this when Jade nudged her. "Well?"

"Hmm?"

"You can't watch them just by staring at them, Vega, that's not how it works. You have to pick one and put it in the machine."

"Oh, right. Um, this one."

Jade pushed it into the player, and for a while they sat, Jade making pithy comments on the movie, Tori barely paying attention, too busy reveling in the strange feeling of intimacy, of being this close to Jade without any apparent danger. She stole a glance at her companion, and smiled.

"What?"

"'What' what?"

"I could hear you smiling. Why are you smiling?"

"I don't know, I'm just... pink pyjamas?"

"Oh." Jade looked down and pulled a face. "Cat left them here. I only wore them to freak you out."

"They suit you."

"Shut up."

"And why would you want to freak me out?"

"Because that's my job."

"So what's my job?"

"To shut up and watch the movie. Now pass the popcorn."

Tori laughed, and shuffled a little closer. And Jade didn't shuffle away.

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"Hey. It's me."

"Hey."

"How'd it go?"

"Would I let you down? But listen, bro, if something bad happens to her-"

"She'll be fine. Trust me."

"You sure?"

"Sure I'm sure. Thanks, man. I owe you one."

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"Nah. You owe me fifty."

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	3. Chapter 3 - Popcorn

**So here we go, the final chapter of our little tale…**

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A few drinks and half a movie later, Tori was losing concentration. She'd thrown caution to the wind and abandoned the soda, and now the heat of the wine mingled with the warmth of Jade's pyjama'd thigh pressing against her bare skin was making her dizzy. Jade had never been tactile, at least not with her, and her sudden willingness to snuggle up was doing funny things to her stomach. "Jade?" she said, to distract herself.

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Jade paused, popcorn in hand. "Is it stupid?"

"Um... no, I don't think so."

"Fire away."

"Did you..." she hesitated. "Did you set this up?"

Jade didn't take her eyes off the screen. "What do you mean?"

"With Andre. Did you two arrange all this? The game, and everything."

"No."

"Are you sure?"

Jade turned to look at her. "I swear to God, Vega, I didn't arrange it with Andre," she said, truthfully. "You just walked up and insisted on going to bed with me, so I thought-"

"It was a _joke_."

"Whatever. Anyway, I just thought it might be a good opportunity for us to hang out, spend a bit of time together."

"But why? Why would you want us to spend time together?"

"You know that thing I said earlier about asking questions? That's all over now."

"Oh, come on."

"I'm sick of us fighting, Tori. And before you say it, I know it was all me, okay? I know I started it. You tried to be nice, and I shut you down." She sighed. "And that was stupid," she said. "I don't hate you. I kind of like you." I just got caught up in my own... I don't know." She stared at the popcorn. "Jealously, I guess."

"Awww," Tori said. "That's kind of sweet." She frowned. "But why couldn't you just ask?"

"Ask?"

"Yeah. Why couldn't you just come up and say, _'Hey, Tori, I've been kind of a gank, so how about you come over and we patch things up?_ ' You know, like a normal human being."

"Because that wouldn't have been any fun."

"Fun?"

"Yeah, you know, fun. That thing you have when you're enjoying yourself."

"You hate fun. Beck said so."

"No, he said I hate being _happy_ ," Jade said. "And he's wrong. I don't hate it. It's just... whenever I try to be happy it just leads to disappointment."

Tori patted Jade's knee. "Well," she said firmly, "I'll try my best not to disappoint you."

Jade paused for a moment, and smiled. "You never do."

Tori laughed, and laid her head on Jade's shoulder. After a few seconds she felt Jade tilt her head to rest gently on top.

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"Plus I got to see what kind of underwear you'd wear if you were trying to seduce me."

"I wasn't trying to seduce you!"

"Oh."

"So now you _are_ disappointed?"

"No."

"Oh."

"You _want_ me to be disappointed?"

"No!"

"Oh."

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"Well, maybe."

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"So what do you think?"

"About what?"

"The underwear."

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"It's beautiful."

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"Hey!" said Jade. She looked down the front of her pyjama top, where a single piece of popcorn nestled in her cleavage. She glared at Tori, who had her eyes on the TV, radiating innocence. "You want me to make you _get_ that?" she said, as though she was talking about a ball that had landed in next-door's garden.

"Do you _want_ me to get it?" Tori slurred slightly, her face shining with the glow of the wine.

Jade's eyes widened slightly. "You wouldn't dare," she said.

"Watch me." And before Jade could protest, she leaned forward and flicked out a long tongue, delicately pressing the tip to the sticky kernel, and withdrew it without touching. She rolled it back into her mouth. "Taa-daa!" she said, with a grin. "Not such a lightweight now, am I?"

Jade's face flushed bright red. "Well, I guess-"

"Right, your turn."

"What?"

Tori picked up another piece of popcorn and dropped it down the front of her T-shirt. "Go get it, tiger."

Jade's jaw worked soundlessly for a second. "Well that's hardly fair," she said. "How am I supposed to get _that_?"

Tori giggled and lay back, pulling up the edge of the T-shirt to reveal the popcorn resting in her bellybutton. "I don't have quite so much to catch it in," she offered by way of explanation, poking Jade playfully in the boob.

"Hey!"

"Oh, come on, Jade. It won't bite."

Jade hesitated, but not to be outdone, leaned forward.

"No touching," Tori warned.

Jade licked her lips, and refocused on the popcorn. She bent slowly and carefully plucked it from its resting place with her mouth. Almost but not quite - just the briefest brush of lips against tan skin. She heard Tori's sharp intake of breath and looked up. Their eyes locked, heavy and hooded with the weight of anticipation.

"You touched," Tori murmured.

Jade nodded.

"Do you want another try?"

Jade nodded again. Tori pulled her T-shirt further up and took another piece of popcorn, placing it carefully, not in her bellybutton, but in her own modest cleavage, an escalation of the challenge. Jade paused, then wordlessly moved up the bed, never taking her eyes from Tori's, and slowly ducked her head.

She retrieved the popcorn but with less finesse - her lips making definite contact, a prickle of electricity passing between them. She leaned back, questioningly.

There was only a smile and a slight shake of the head, before Tori took a third piece of popcorn, holding it up before Jade's eyes, and then placed it carefully between her lips. The two of them stayed motionless for five beats of the heart.

Then Jade moved up with intent, as Tori lay down in surrender.

And this time there was touching.

Lots and _lots_ of touching.

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Nothing was said, but everyone could tell that _something_ had changed. There was still the bickering, and the rivalry, the smug grins and the furious glares, but in between...

In between there was the nudging of knees under the table, the brush of a hand against a thigh, the chin resting on the shoulder while they watched a video on Tori's phone. Coffees were bought, fries were shared without thinking. And when two weeks later they finally walked in through the gate hand-in-hand, the whole school breathed a collective sigh of relief, as though a gathering storm had finally broken, or some ancient prophecy had finally come to pass.

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"So, you and Tori, huh?"

Jade turned from her locker, and smiled at the figure, shyly. "Yeah."

"Good for you."

"Thanks."

"Happy?"

"Very."

"And how's that working out for you?"

She laughed. "It's a weird feeling, but I'll get used to it."

Her confidant leaned against the locker. "So was this all part of the plan?"

She shrugged. "No," she said. "I honestly never expected... I just wanted to spend a little time with her, that's all."

"And you couldn't just ask her to come over?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Jade hadn't been able to tell Tori the truth when _she'd_ asked, but somehow she owed it this time.

"Because what if she'd said _no_?"

It was his turn to laugh. "She would _never_ have said no to you," he said. "Not in a million years."

"Why not?"

"For the same reason she's the only person you've ever been afraid to ask. For the same reason you're where you are now."

"I don't get it."

"Look it up."

"Look what up?"

"Four letter word. Starts with 'L'."

"I'm not in love!"

"Two things - firstly, don't say that out loud around your brand-new girlfriend, and secondly, you clearly are."

"I am not."

"Then you want to have a word with your face, because it says otherwise."

Jade rolled her eyes. "Okay, so what if I am?"

"Nothing. That's the point. There's nothing wrong with being in love, it's not a weakness. Just go with it."

Jade relaxed. "I guess. I just… I'm not sure I know how to _be_ in love."

"I'll try not to be deeply wounded by that."

"I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Don't sweat it. I know what you meant."

"Look, I know I should have said something before, but... thanks. Really. I know it took a lot for you to do that."

"No problem. I want you to be happy. And I reckon you two have got a pretty good chance."

"Yeah."

"If you treat her right."

"I will."

"Good."

Jade paused, curious. "Was it your idea?"

"What?"

"The whole 'song lyric' thing."

"Nah, that was pure Andre. I just told him where and when and figured he'd find a way. Plus, you know, plausible deniability."

"Well, thanks, anyway. I owe you one."

"No."

"No?"

"No." Beck said, with a grin. "You owe me fifty."

Jade sighed, and reached into her bag. "If Tori ever finds out about this, you are _so_ dead."

"My lips are sealed." He took the money, and turned to leave. "You guys watch a movie last night?" he said.

"No, why?"

"It's just..."

"What?"

"You have popcorn in your hair."

"What? Where?"

"Just there."

"Damn it."

He grinned. "Catch you later."

Jade waited until he'd gone, and gently teased the little yellow blob from its resting place. She popped it into her mouth and chewed, thoughtfully.

They hadn't watched a movie. Not last night. They'd been _way_ too busy.

.

But they'd still had the popcorn.

.

She grinned and headed off to class.

.

.

.

 **Well, look at that, I finally finished something. Tea and medals all round. If you want, you can imagine that the story 'Does It Count?' (or something very like it) takes place somewhere between the popcorn and heading back to school...**

 **Anyway, let me know what you think. Right, fun time's over, it's back to the existential angst. Do not adjust your set.**


End file.
